Todd Inoue May 10, 2021Updated: May 13, 2021, 7:16 am
Korean American singer-songwriter James Lee is busy as a producer and songwriter for Chinese pop acts and his own singing career. Photo: teluke
James Lee sounds weary but blessed, speaking to The Chronicle on a video call from Beijing. He’s got a lot going on as an in-demand songwriter and producer of Chinese pop acts. Fold in a creative consultant position with buzzy Shanghai megaclub Master and his own nascent solo career, which includes preparing for an upcoming Sessions Live solo show on Wednesday, May 12, 24 hours doesn’t seem like enough time in a day to contain the young Korean American’s hustle.
Todd Inoue May 8, 2021Updated: May 12, 2021, 6:53 pm
Anderson .Paak (left) and Bruno Mars of music group Silk Sonic perform during the Grammy Awards broadcast March 14. Photo: Theo Wargo
With vaccinations more widespread, pandemic restrictions loosening and summer on the horizon, think of this year’s Chronicle-curated Asian Pacific American Heritage Month mixtape as a safe, socially distanced barbecue.
There are grown folks dropping knowledge (Lyrics Born & Cutso, the Year of the Ox, H.E.R.), young ’uns swiping cognac and messing around in the garage (G Yamazawa, Saweetie, Guapdad 4000, Chow Mane), hyper kids running loose in the backyard (the Linda Lindas, Atarashii Gakko!), outcasts barricaded in the bedroom (Bruce Lee Band, Japanese Breakfast, Faye Yu) and wise elders asking about college admissions (Yo-Yo Ma, Vijay Iyer, Aki Kumar, No-No Boy).
Todd Inoue April 1, 2021Updated: April 2, 2021, 11:48 am
Lyrics Born and DJ Cutso Photo: Eugene Kim
In the past year, the pandemic permanently upended our lives. And for Asian Americans like Tom Shimura and Paolo Bello, escalating anti-Asian violence agitated by a churning political landscape compounded what was already a tragic and worrisome year.
“That adds an entirely new, extremely heavy layer of burden on us,” said Shimura, better known as rapper Lyrics Born.
Following increasing reports of hate crimes toward the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in the Bay Area and throughout the country, a tipping point came on March 16, the day of the Atlanta mass shooting that targeted Asian-owned businesses and killed eight people, six of whom were Asian women. This tragedy was different and deeply affected both Shimura, who is Japanese American, and Bello, a Filipino American DJ. Bello reduced his social media intake to focus on his mental well-being. Shimu